Online emergency apps back in use in Schuylkill County after profanity

Aug. 25—After a week-long hiatus, online scanner applications, or apps, critical to first responders are once again active.

Scott Krater, Schuylkill County Communications Center director, said Broadcastify and Zello were reactivated Friday morning. A third app used locally, Scanner Radio, gets its audio through Broadcastify.

In a rare move, authorities took the apps offline on Aug. 18 to investigate the use of profanity in transmissions on the county's emergency radio system.

At the time they were deactivated, Krater said they would be back in operation when procedures and policies on the use of profanity were in place.

Frank Zangari Jr., president of the Schuylkill County Fire Chiefs Association, said a board has been set up to review incidents involving potential profanity. It is made up of representatives of the county, the 911 center, the fire chiefs association, the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency and the Schuylkill County Firefighters Association.

The panel, Zangari said, has developed administrative policies that more clearly define profanity and the circumstances under which it may have been used. The procedures, he said, attempt to delineate between a slip-of-the-tongue and perhaps more serious use of profanity.

Zangari expects that fire companies will be notified of the policy, contained in an addendum to their contract with the communications center, by midweek.

"It's important to be professional when communicating," Zangari said. "When we're not, it doesn't help the integrity of the fire service."

Zangari credited Krater and others who quickly came up with a policy and guidelines to ensure such incidents are not repeated.

"Everyone worked together to come up with a solution," Zangari said. "Working together is the part of the service that makes me want to stay in."

Krater is confident that users of the system are cognizant of the consequences of using profanity during emergency transmissions.

"We're confident," he said, "that they have been made aware of it."

Using profanity, however unintentional, in emergency communications can result in the Federal Communications Commission revoking the county's license to operate a communications center, Krater warned.

He stressed that there have been no complaints filed with the FCC. Taking down the apps, he indicated, was basically a precautionary measure.

In recent years, cellphone apps have replaced radio scanners as the primary method of communicating with first responders during emergency calls.

When it receives an emergency call, the 911 center notifies fire companies and their members through an app called IamResponding. It provides information on the type of the call, location and which companies have been dispatched.

After that, updates on the status of the call come from apps available on Android and iPhone devices.

The public also has access to the updates on the Schuylkill County Fire link via the app Broadcastify.

Pottsville Fire Chief James E. Misstishin noted earlier this week the apps are critical in keeping first responders aware of the status of the incident.

"Firefighters could be responding to what they believe is an emergency, only to find out they may have not been needed," he said. "They would be rushing to a scene even though they are not needed. It's a safety factor."

(Reporter Frank Andruscavage contributed to this story.)

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007